


Walk

by firerwolf



Series: Spartan Love: After Dark [5]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-25 05:21:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6182050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firerwolf/pseuds/firerwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kathleen is restless so she and Fred go for a little walk and have an important discussion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Walk

Kathleen finished tying her boot and stood up, glancing over her shoulder. Fred was sitting on the bench behind her, putting on his own shoes. She wished he wasn't coming with her, as she knew he would stop her from running. As soon as she'd told him she was going for a walk he had decided to come with her, having nothing else to do. The UNSC had nothing for the Spartans to do so Fred had nothing to keep him from following her like a puppy just begging to be cuddled and lick your face. Kathleen wouldn't have minded his wanting to stay close if she weren't recovering from a serious injury. She'd forgotten how Fred would fuss over injuries and with no real duties to fill his time he was driving her crazy with always trying to take care of her.

The ODSS barracks were empty for the most part, her soldiers having gone to continue their routine exercise. As Peter had put it, "You could spend a year lying in bed to recover but if we take even a day off well fall so far behind you we'd never keep up." Kathleen wasn't sure how true that was but she wasn't cleared for free range to exercise as she was still healing from her most recent injury so she had to take it easy. Kathleen wished she could join them but even Max had told her to take it easy. It wasn't like they had any missions anyways.

A hand touched Kathleen's side and she looked to Fred as he stood beside her. "Are you ready to go, Kathleen? Or do you want to lie down?"

Kathleen smacked his hand off her side and scowled. "I'm tired of lying around." It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the days spent cuddling with him in bed but she'd gotten tired of just sitting around. She turned and moved toward the door, knowing that Fred would follow. He hurried to match her stride, falling into step beside her as they moved down the hall. Kathleen felt Fred's hand brush hers as he tried to casually hold her hand but she moved away, uncomfortable with showing affection in the public space. Kathleen looked to the male Spartan and could see him frowning at her. "Do you remember nothing about me?"

"We're over forty years old, Kathleen. Is it really that awful to hold my hand?" Fred asked. He grabbed for her hand again but she moved it away. "You'll lay in bed with me around your soldiers but won't hold hands with me in the hall."

"Those are two completely different things. My soldiers are not the public. I wouldn't object to holding hands in front of Linda because we know her. A hallway where anyone can see us is not okay." Kathleen led them out of the building and along the paths that followed the line of buildings.

Fred let out a disappointed huff but didn't argue. He'd been very respectful since they'd started working on rebuilding their relationship. She'd started letting him hold her hand and he'd been sleeping on her bed, mainly because he didn't have his own in the ODSS barracks, but even at night he was cautious about the placement of his arms. Kathleen turned down between two buildings and moved toward the tree-line around the base. As soon as she was sure they were away from prying eyes she reached out and gripped Fred's hand with her own. Fred squeezed her hand slightly but didn't attempt further actions. It sort of frustrated her that he'd fallen into the habit of waiting for her to make the major moves, or maybe he was waiting for her to goad him into making the first move. She'd hoped he'd become more confident and would be more assertive. She would have thought leading the Spartans would have maybe given him more willingness to take action.

They moved away from the base and into the calm of the forest. At least it should have been calm but the last time Kathleen had been in a forest they were assaulting a Flood infected reactor. She tried to just focus on the quiet but instead it made her feel uneasy. This was the same sort of calm that had proceeded her recent injury. She looked around between the trees, searching for the shimmer of a cloaked Sangheili. Fred shifted his hand to intertwine his fingers with hers. "Is something wrong?"

Kathleen turned her attention back to the way they were walking. "Peace makes me feel uneasy, like something dangerous is right around the corner." She glanced to her side as she heard a sound but it was just a bird taking flight.

"Calm down, Kathleen. There's nothing here to attack you and if anything comes I'll make sure that you're safe," Fred assured her. Fred smiled and looked up to the trees. "It's like the forests from when we were young. Most of the things in here are afraid of you, not a threat."

"Fred there were ODST in those forests, ready to kick our ass. That's not exactly safe," Kathleen argued. She pulled her hand from his and Fred gave her an unhappy look. "I hate just walking like this. Why don't we run for a bit?"

"Have the medics cleared you for that sort if activity?" Fred asked.

"Of course they have," Kathleen lied. Well it wasn't a complete lie; Max had said she could run for short distances if she needed to. "Come on, Fred, afraid you can't keep up?" Kathleen smirked at him, knowing that if she took off he'd follow. Kathleen took off at a steady run through the trees, Fred's heavier foot falls following behind her. She didn't feel any pain as she ran so she kept going for some time, dodging between trees and just enjoying that for once the thing chasing her wasn't out to rip her throat out. She was enjoying herself so much she ignored the pain until her breathing became hard and she was forced to stop.

"Kathleen!" Fred reached her side and placed a hand on her back. Kathleen was partially bent over and her hand was gripping her chest. "Kathleen are you okay?" He leaned down to look her in the eye and she could see concern on his face, mirroring his words.

"I'm just tired," Kathleen assured him. She was really just out of breath, though she had to run nearly as far as she could at full strength. "How far did we run?"

"About three miles, but you were running at top speed," Fred answered. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I just need a moment's rest," Kathleen answered. She moved over to a tree and sat down, back resting against the rough bark. She looked over to Fred who was staring up at the sky, though for what reason she didn't know and didn't care. She was surprised when Fred moved over and held his hand out to her. "I just need a moment, Fred."

"I know, but I know of a better place for us to rest for a bit," Fred explained. Kathleen stared at his hand but made no move to take it, unsure of why they needed to move. "I could carry you."

"Hell no," Kathleen said, forcing herself to her feet. She was surprised when Fred's arm suddenly wrapped tightly around her shoulders and she was suddenly pulled back. An arm slipped under her legs and she found herself lifted up, bridal style, in Fred's arms. She tried to struggle out of his grip but he'd pinned her against his body. "What are you doing, Fred?"

"Carrying you so you don't have to use any energy," Fred answered, ignoring her struggling. "I don't see why you are always so against me pampering you. There isn't even anyone here to see me carry you so why not relax and enjoy not having to exert energy."

"Fred, I've spent the last few weeks not doing anything. I want to use energy," Kathleen argued. She pushed against his chest but didn't really have the energy to break out of his grip. She admitted his grip seemed firmer than when they were young, which she was pleased with.

"We're already almost there, so just relax and enjoy the affectionate action in a private location." Fred moved through the trees and Kathleen decided she was wasting energy fighting him when she was in a bad position to do so. When he finally slowed and moved out of the trees Kathleen looked to the lake that he'd carried her to. "It's far away from where people go and if you need water I'm fairly sure it's safe."

"I'm so happy with your confidence in the water quality, now put me down." Kathleen scowled at Fred and he set her down, cautiously. As soon as she was on her own feet her fist slammed into Fred's shoulder. "You knew that was coming."

"Yeah, I did," Fred admitted, rubbing his shoulder where she'd hit him. "I have to admit, I sort of missed it." Fred's hand moved to her side and pulled her closer to him. "I missed a lot of things about you."

"Oh really," Kathleen said, moving close enough to him to press her body against his. "What else about me did you miss?"

Fred smiled and wrapped his arms lightly around her waist as she leaned against him. "I missed your spirit, the way that you're always so forceful. I missed your confidence and the way you fight back against things you don't like. I missed the violence, a little, but mostly when it's not aimed at me. I missed the way you try to simplify things, just focus on what is at hand." Fred shifted one of his arms so his hand could run up her back. "I missed some more physical parts of you as well," he admitted. "I missed your eyes and how beautiful they are. I missed your hair, and I'm glad to see you still kept it short. I missed those annoyed looks you give me and the way you smile." His hand traveled back down her back and bravely slid under her shirt to touch her skin. "I love how smooth your skin is and how warm you are."

Kathleen bit off a comment about how her skin wasn't smooth, rather broken with scars that he knew nothing about. She liked the praise and just wanted to enjoy it. "Did you miss me?" Fred asked. Kathleen wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged tight to him. She hoped he remembered her enough to understand that this was as close as she could get to explaining that she'd missed him. Fred's arms hugged her tight against him and she knew he understood. After a few seconds the amount of emotion felt uncomfortable and Kathleen released him. Fred took the hint and released her as well. Kathleen moved a bit toward the lake and sat down on the grass.

Kathleen looked up as she heard cloth and she turned in time to see Fred pulling his shirt off. He tossed the shirt down to the ground and crouched down beside her. "Do you want to get a little exercise?"

Kathleen was sure that he wasn't proposing what she was thinking of. "Well, I'm absolutely certain you aren't talking about what I have in my head so what are you actually talking about?"

"I get what you mean," Fred said, sounding a bit proud of himself. "That's not what I'm thinking, though. We're still rebuilding our relationship so I didn't think you'd be willing to do that." Fred unbuckled his belt and pulled down his pants. "I was thinking something a bit more innocent."

Fred pulled down his underwear and Kathleen couldn't help but look to his crotch for a moment. "Doesn't seem innocent to me," she remarked.

Fred crouched down, which caused her gaze to move back to his face. "I forgot how dirty your mind can be, Kathleen." Fred stood up and moved to the edge of the lake. "I was just going to swim." He bent his knees and dove into the water. Kathleen moved to lay down in the grass, her arms crossed near the edge of the lake, her head resting on her arms. She watched him swam around the lake, the male Spartan moving easily under the water as he followed the edge of the lake. She watched until he got too far away and she just settled in, watching the calm water. The wind rushed over the lake, causing small waves and making the sun sparkle against the reflective surface. She couldn't remember a calm like this since they were trainees, and as she spotted Fred's shadow under the water moving back into view she felt the edge of concern easing away. As he neared where she was Kathleen stretched out one arm and dipped her hand into the water. As he passed she moved her hand down to touch the palm of her hand to his back. The feeling of his muscles moving under her hand brought up old memories, bring up a feeling between her legs she had forgotten her body was capable of.

It had been almost thirty Years since that night but the memory was so clear and her arousal had been so automatic the moment she remembered their time beside that lake. After the augmentations Kathleen hadn't felt those feelings, though she didn't know if it was because of the augmentations or rather because Fred wasn't there to cause them. There had never been anyone other than him and right now his skin was causing all those things to come back like a wave crashing over rocks. A hand gripped her arm and she looked down to Fred's hand on her upper arm. "Kathleen?"

"You need to work out more," Kathleen said, automatically falling back on a sort of insult. "You don't have nearly as much definition as I remember."

"Is that why you couldn't help but reach out and touch me?" Fred asked a half smile on his face. His hand moved down her arm and gently gripped the hand in the water. "Maybe you'll like how this feels better." He lifted her hand and held her palm against his abs. Kathleen felt him flex the muscles under her touch.

She liked the way it felt and she had to admit that she didn't really want to move her hand from his skin. Still he was challenging her and she was never one to back down from a challenge. "It's not bad, but I know where you'd prefer for me to touch you." Her hand traveled down but she was surprised when Fred grabbed her wrist. "What?" she asked, annoyed by him stopping her.

"Kathleen, we're still trying to rebuild our relationship. I don't think that jumping to sex is a good idea," Fred explained. "I think we need to rebuild, take it slow."

"Oh come on, Fred. Why not have some meaningless, passionate sex, and then we can work past any issues." Kathleen tried to move her hand down again but Fred was standing and he had a firm grip on her wrist. "What is your problem?"

"I'm not the kind of man that does meaningless sex," Fred answered, pulling her hand up out of the water. "I'm fine with some teasing but I don't think it's a good idea to go further than that, and that's final."

Kathleen rolled her eyes and yanked her hand out of his grip. "Why are you being a stubborn ass?" Kathleen shifted so she was sitting up, more even with his standing height in the water. "I'm not going to tease if there's no chance at screwing. I'm heading back to the barracks." Kathleen stood up and started to walk away from the lake. She heard Fred get out of the water and head toward her, but she was surprised by the arms wrapping around her waist and being pulled back to his wet body. Kathleen tried to push him away. "Fred, you're getting my cloths wet."

"Don't walk away from me," he said, face buried against her neck. "Please," he added.

Kathleen sighed, feeling some pity for him. They stood in silence for some time before Kathleen started to feel uneasy. "Will you let me to now, Fred?" His grip only tightened around her waist in response. "Fred this certainly isn't helping things."

Fred reluctantly released her but he was still standing close. "Then what will help things, and don't say sex because I know that's not true."

"It's a relationship, not a warthog," Kathleen said, turning to face Fred. "You can't just go to the supplies and get the parts to fix a problem, it's not that simple. Sometimes some pains need to be left alone, let the wound heal on its own."

"Yeah but I also don't want to scratch at the wound, make it worse," Fred argued. "I get that there's no words or actions that will just fix you being mad at me. I just don't want to make things worse while it is healing. Though from your attitude you've never been one to let injuries heal before doing stupid things. That's why I'm here, to keep you from doing those stupid things. Like running when you aren't fully healed."

"Yeah but being injured doesn't cripple a person, particularly not a Spartan. I ran around with my chest partially split open by an energy sword with no trouble. Wounds don't bring things to a dead stop," Kathleen pointed out.

"And running around with such a bad injury was reckless of you," Fred countered. Kathleen didn't exactly agree with that but then again Fred didn't know the whole situation. "I'm trying to keep you from doing something like that and forcing our relationship to move too quickly."

"How is sex moving too quickly? How is it reckless? I just don't understand." Kathleen crossed her arms, shielding herself as a thought came to mind. "Are you not attracted to me anymore?" Her hand absently moved up just enough to touch the fresh scar across her chest that ended at her left shoulder. "I know I have some big scars but they aren't that bad."

"Of course that's not true," Fred said as his arms reached out, pulling her to his chest. "Of course I'm attracted to you, I just care too much about you to risk out relationship because of the way your touch makes me feel." Kathleen relaxed, laying her head on his shoulder. "Besides, have you looked at me? I'm not really one to talk."

"I assure you, Fred, I have most certainly seen you." Her arms uncrossed and she placed her palms against his chest. "But I've never shown a dislike for scars."

"If I remember they drove you wild. Some of them are fading, but I could get some more," Fred offered. His hand moved over her back, feeling the scar across her back through her shirt.

Kathleen leaned against his chest, soaking up the warmth of his skin. She hoped he didn't ask about where the scar had come from because she didn't know how to justify knocking a Sangheili, that at the time had still been her enemy, out of the way of a wraith shot that would have killed him. As she thought about it she had a lot of scars that were like that, with stories she either didn't want to, couldn't, or wasn't allowed to explain. His fingers moved along the outside of the marking and she could feel him take in a breath to speak. Kathleen didn't want to answer questions so she blurted out the first thing she could think of. "If you're still attracted to me why won't you fuck me?"

Fred was surprised by the comment and there was a full second of confusion on his face before he seemed to understand the words. "I told you, because you're mad at me. I don't want to have meaningless angry sex."

"I'm only mad at you because you refuse to screw me," Kathleen clarified. "And that's not going to change until you do."

Fred furrowed his brow. "Wait, aren't you still mad about me…being an ass?" Kathleen knew he was talking about their first reunion, the one where he didn't know who she was. "Or are you over that?"

"Like Hell I'm over that, but that's beside the point. I'm going to be upset about that for some time, it really hurt, but putting a freeze on our relationship isn't going to help it. That wound will heal over time, Fred, but you can't stop everything because sometimes looking at you hurts." Kathleen lifted her head to look him square in the eyes. "Do you really think our relationship is so weak that me being a bit hurt means I don't still love you? If I was mad enough at you that I didn't love you then I wouldn't have tried to start over. We've spent the last few weeks getting to know each other again, and there's a lot more of that to do, but I still love you. Are you unsure if you still love me?"

Fred moved one hand from her waist to gently touch her cheek. "The one thing I'm sure of is that I still love you, always have, and always will. You can always be sure of that."

"Then you should be sure that were solid," Kathleen concluded. She leaned her head slightly to press her cheek to his hand. "Honestly you're the most uncertain, unconfident person I know. Relationships aren't always easy, and there will be times when I'm mad at you and times you're mad at me. That's perfectly fine, healthy. The only thing that matters is that the love is still there, that eventually we get over the anger, that it doesn't plague us all the time. And I will get over the hurt, because one day I won't see that confused look that caused the pain, I'll just see the way you're looking at me right now."

Fred smiled slightly and leaned forward enough to place his forehead against hers. "So you're not mad at me?"

"I am still annoyed with you, but there's something you can do to smooth things over." Kathleen's hand moved up his chest to his neck, smirking as she pushed her body a bit toward his to get her point across.

Fred hesitated, still doubting if it was the right choice. Kathleen ran her finder along his hairline at the base of his neck, the way he always liked. His eyes closed as they always did when she touched him like this. He relaxed enough that his hand on her waist slid down to her rear. "I think I know exactly what would smooth this all over." His hand roughly squeezed the flesh under his hand. "How about we head to the edge of that lake and reenact your fourteenth birthday?"

"That might be a bit hard, as I don't remember all of this." One of her hands moved down his chest. "As I remember back then you weren't quite so…firm. Do you even remember how it goes?"

"No, but all the better to make it more historically accurate," Fred joked, his hand dropping from her cheek to join his other hand on her backside. "You sure about this?"

"Says the man who's hands are on my ass," Kathleen pointed out. "Now take me over to that lakeside, let's get down on that grass, and fuck me."

"Sorry, but you know me, always afraid of screwing things up." Fred opened his eyes and smiled slightly, still hesitant.

"Well I know of something that will fix that." Kathleen smirked evil as her hands traveled up his chest to his cheeks. She gently tilted his head and kissed him. It seemed so obvious, but through the weeks she'd never taken the time or gave thought to kissing. His lips were firm against hers, unmoving for just a fraction of a moment. She was surprised at how quickly he returned the kiss, and with just as much force. He opened his mouth and Kathleen didn't even think, just followed his lead as they deepened the kiss.

Much to Kathleen's displeasure Fred broke their heated kiss and seemed to take a step back. "This isn't right." Kathleen groaned and rolled her eyes, annoyed that he was backing out. She let her shoulders slump and frowned at the distance between them. "This isn't good enough."

Kathleen's annoyance suddenly turned to anger and she crossed her arms. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He was making no sense and his sudden actions made even less sense. "How am I not good enough?"

"No, I mean we deserve better," Fred tried to explain, closing the distance between them and wrapping his arms around her. "The next time we're together it will only be our second time and it will have been over thirty years since our first time. The next time will be a second chance at a first time." Kathleen was starting to understand what he meant. It would be a big event, one that she'd remember as well as their first time. "I just don't feel like this moment is worthy of that. I will gladly roll around by this lake and kiss you senseless, but this moment doesn't feel right. It's not good enough." Fred leaned forward and set his forehead against hers. "That and I should probably look up some instructions, like a refresher course."

Kathleen smiled, liking the sentiment and accepting his choice. She smirked and pushed against his chest, forcing him to step back. "Damn right you'll need to prep. I'm expecting a better performance than last time." Kathleen stepped around him, sauntering toward the lake. She stripped her shirt and pants with ease, moving to the edge of the lake. "Going to join me?" She asked over her shoulder. She didn't get a response but rather heard running steps and she reacted the moment that she felt a threat behind her. She crouched, turned to face Fred as he ran toward her, and reacted. With ease she struck out at Fred's foot, tripping him, before grabbing his shoulder and tossing him into the water.

Fred resurfaced and looked up to her on the bank. There was an excited smile on his face as he stared up at her. "Never seen you move like that. Where's you learn it?"

Kathleen couldn't help but smile at his interest. She should have expected Fred to take interest in her adapted fighting style. She crouched down beside the water so they were closer to the same height. "It's the ODSS fighting style," she explained. "It's a little Spartan, a little ODST, and a little Sangheili."

"Sexy is what it is," Fred said, moving to set his arms on the grass of the bank. "I'm starting to reconsidered if this moment is worthy." His hand reached out and gently touched her leg. "And you made it look so effortless."

"It was effortless," Kathleen agreed. "I reacted; a soldier has to trust their instincts and natural reactions." Kathleen leaned a little bit closer, smirking down at Fred. "Maybe you can get a private lesson and I can teach you some of my moves." Fred smirked and set his hands on the grass. The Lieutenant pushed against the grass and lifted himself up. Kathleen met him half way. The kiss was soft and sweet, Kathleen's hand moving to Fred's neck and trying to pull him up toward her. Fred's hand moved to her neck and he suddenly started to dip back down into the water. Kathleen tried to pull away but Fred kept a tight grip.

Kathleen was pulled down into the water, pushing Fred away from her after she was under the water. She surfaced and moved a bit away. "You're going to get it, Fred."

Kathleen found herself suddenly pulled against Fred's body before he pinned her against the bank. "Damn right I'm going to get it." His hands moved down to her ass and squeezed roughly. Kathleen was intrigued and surprised at how aroused his actions made her. Her hand gripped his neck and pulled him down, covering his mouth with hers. She slid her fingers into his hair and suddenly gripped his hair tightly and tugged. Fred didn't move away but Kathleen was surprised as he moaned into the kiss.

Kathleen tugged again, this time more forceful and Fred moved his head back to relieve the pain. "That's too hard," he complained. Kathleen released his hair and one of his hands moved to the back of his head.

"You don't get to waffle back and forth ," Kathleen said placing a hand against Fred's chest and making him take a step back. Kathleen wasn't sure how she felt about his reaction to the pain but she'd deal with that when the time came. She moved away from Fred and further out in the lake.

"Where are you going? You wanted me to have sex with you and now you won't let me?" He sounded genuinely confused by it all.

"I'm going for a swim," Kathleen answered, stopping and turning back. Fred stopped a distance away, giving her some space. "I wanted you to screw me, but you refused. Now that I'm past that you suddenly are horny. You missed your shot, Frederic, try again another time." Fred sighed but made no objection or attempts to further the conversation. Kathleen turned back to the middle of the lake and continued out to the deeper water for a swim, Fred grumpily following her.


End file.
